Baghlan district governor survivors ambush in yet another targeted attack

Governor of Jalga district in Baghlan province Abdul Wali Sharifi was wounded in an ambush by unknown gunmen in Kotal Murgh district of the province on Saturday.

Local officials said Sunday, Sharifi is in hospital and his condition has been described as stable. 

According to them, the incident happened when Sharifi was on his way to Pul-e-Khumri city. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

In a separate incident, the Access to Information Commission confirmed on Sunday that one of its commissioners and spokesmen, Hamdullah Arbab, survived an IED blast in Kabul on Sunday.

Arbab was unharmed after a magnetic IED attached to his vehicle was detonated. 

Officials said Arbab’s driver was killed and one of his bodyguards was wounded in the explosion. 

No group has claimed responsibility for this incident, which is another in a string of violent targeted attacks over the past two months against government employees and public figures.  

The most prominent public figure to be targeted during this period was Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh. 

He escaped with only minor injuries after a roadside explosion in Kabul in early September. 

Saleh was targeted in the explosion – which killed 10 civilians.  At least 15 additional people were wounded, including members of Saleh’s staff and a few of his bodyguards.